learning curve

These days judges are trying to learn tricks that journos have putatively been masters of: learning complex subjects and delivering the goods quickly. That is particularly important as time is more valuable than money in business and markets. A government official told a fleeting acquaintance of Third Eye how judges are measuring up to the challenge in areas like intellectual property and complex capital market transactions.

At the beginning of a case involving a securities transaction, a judge asked a lawyer representing the capital market regulator Sebi, “What does the Sebi do? Do you actually...er... stock up the share certificates and all? How is your function different from that of a stock exchange?” The lawyer made a presentation in true corporate style and at the end of the five-day trial, the court delivered an order, which an official described as “fantastic”. He also said, “We are sure a lot of learning has gone into the process of giving that order.”